Verstappen won’t do Sainz any favours at Silverstone

Michelle Foster
Max Verstappen congratulates Carlos Sainz on his pole position, Silverstone July 2022

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen congratulates Carlos Sainz on his pole position, Silverstone July 2022

Max Verstappen won’t be doing Carlos Sainz any favours at Silverstone, the championship leader saying he won’t change his approach, he’s racing for the win.

Sainz will start Sunday’s British Grand Prix from pole position, his maiden F1 pole in a qualifying session.

But while he is dreaming of turning that into an inaugural race win, the Ferrari driver yet to take to the top step of the podium, Verstappen wants to continue his and Red Bull’s run.

The Dutchman will join Sainz on the front row of the grid, chasing a seventh successive win for Red Bull, and his seventh of this season.

He sees no reason to hold back.

“The target is always to score points and always, of course as many as you can,” he said, “and that’s how I’ve approached every single race until now, so I don’t see why this race suddenly needs to be different.

“If I have an opportunity to go for it, I will definitely go for it. It’s how it goes in F1.

“There are still so many races left where you need to score a lot of points, to have a chance to win the championship.”

There is a small chance of rain during Sunday’s grand prix, the forecast saying 12 percent at the start with that dropping to less than 10 in the second half.

The teams have no real idea about their race pace, their long distance runs on Friday having also been limited by the weather.

“Everyone only did a long run of about four laps [on Friday],” team boss Christian Horner told Motorsport.com. “That makes the race pace an unknown factor for everyone, although it is positive for us that thanks to Checo we have two cars in front.

“If it becomes a completely dry race, then strategy and tyre wear will become crucial.”

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko is banking on Red Bull being the fastest in race trim.

“Overtaking is difficult here,” he told Sky Germany.

“We are in second and fourth place, so from a strategic and tactical point of view there is still a lot that can be done.

“I think we will at least be faster in terms of race-pace.”